Search Chitra's Food Book

February 23, 2011

PHIRNI, a famous North Indian dessert is usually made with rice soaked & grind to a smooth paste.For a change i tried with rice flour suggested by MB in her cookbook. Its very easy to make and tasted great .Its a very good replacement for Payasam .Usually Phirni looks thick. I made it little thin as per our taste.Please make it as u need.I have updated this recipe as per the suggestions given by an anonymous reader...If u want to make badam phirni, soak few badams in water , blanch & chop them finely. Add the chopped badam at the end after switching off the flame.I used badam just to garnish.

INGREDIENTS :

Milk – 1/2 litre ( around 2 cups )

Rice flour – 3/4 tbsp

Sugar – 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Cashewnuts , pista & badam – Few (finely chopped)

Rose water or kewara - 1/2 tsp (for additional flavor , i dint use)

METHOD :

Mix rice flour in 1/2 cup of milk and without forming any lumps.

Heat rest of the milk in a heavy vessel.

When it starts to boil ,add the rice flour paste and cook stirring constantly.

February 17, 2011

Though i have posted some pickles from my MIL’s hand , I feel this post is somewhat special as i made it on my own using less oil for first time.The result was completely satisfactory.Click here to see another healthy , quick side dish for rice using gooseberry if u r interested..

INGREDIENTS

Big gooseberry - 12 nos

Red chillies – 8 –10 nos (Long variety , adjust )

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Asafetida / hing – 1/4 tsp

To dry roast

Methi seeds – 1 tsp

Cooking oil – 1.5 tbsp

Mustard seeds –1 tsp

Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

To temperSesame oil – 1 tbsp

METHOD

Dry roast methi seeds in a kadai till it turns brown with a nice aroma.Powder it along with asafetida and turmeric powder.Set aside.

Grind the red chillies to a coarse powder. Keep aside.

In a pressure cooker or in an idly pot ,steam cook the whole big gooseberries without adding water.After it cools down ,cut the gooseberry into bite sized pieces .( It will come off easily when u press it with ur fingers.)

Then in a wide mouthed kadai add a tbsp of oil and temper the items given above.Add the gooseberry pieces and the coarse red chilly powder.

Mix well for few minutes till raw smell disappears.Add the salt and toss well.

February 15, 2011

Directi , an internet domain registrar and web hosting company in India has introduced new venture 'BigRock.com'. Directi also has Logicboxes.com, ResellerClub.com, WebHosting.Info and Skenzo under its wings.

Through BigRock.com, domain names will be easily available and registration can be done in less time and also the website design will be done at affordable rates.

Most Indian small businesses find establishing web presence a daunting task, due to three main deterrents - price, low tech know-how and poor awareness of the benefits of taking their business online. At BigRock, they aim to address this need in an easy, affordable and reliable way. BigRock.com provides domain names such as .in and co.in at Rs 99 for first year of registration and .com and .net for Rs 499. The firm is planning to offer services to half a million SMEs, entrepreneurs and individual business to help them grow.To know more about the company & the price list , login hereIn 2011, their goal is to help 500,000 Indian SMEs and professionals, get their businesses online. To achieve this, they are launching communication through various media, including TV - which is a first for any company in this industry, in the country.Checkout some of these funny Ads from BigRock in case u missed watching in TV ;)

Big Rock Rambo Acting Classes TV commercial by BigRock.com

And finally about BigRock,

U can find more about them here.
Readers of this post can use this coupon and avail this offer.Reader coupon < anyonecancook>
· Up to 50% discount on our Hosting, Email and Do-It-Yourself Website builder products.
· 10% discount on all other products
All Coupon offers are for 1st year only and expire on 28th February, 2011

February 10, 2011

When i was searching for recipes using left over idlies , i came across this kaima idly in sharmilee’s blog. I got attracted by this title & tried it on the same day.It was very nice.Thanku so much sharmilee :). Now i am posting this for my future reference.Sure kids would love this..

INGREDIENTS :

Left over idlies – 5 nos ( cube cut )

Big onion – 1 no (finely chopped)

Tomato – 2 nos (-do-)

Green chilly - 1 no ( finely chopped)

Capsicum - 1/2 no

Red chilly powder– 1/2 tsp

Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt – As needed.

To temper :

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Channa dal – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a few

To garnish :
Coriander leaves - few

METHOD:

Heat a kadai with 2 tbsp of oil and shallow fry the cube cut idly pieces.( u can also deep fry)Set aside.

In the same kadai, add a tbsp of oil and temper the items given above.

February 4, 2011

I learnt this from my MIL. Its a very tasty one pot meal recipe.I usually make it for dinner.I use noi arisi ( broken rice ) to prepare this upma. Its available in all grocery stores. If u don’t get this rice, u can just break the raw rice by running in the mixie once or twice. No side dish is needed. If neede it can be served with chopped onions. It can be made in jiffy.Apt for bachelors and working women!

In a cooker base, add oil and temper the mustard seeds followed by urad & chana dal , pinched red chillies & hing. In a bowl , soak the tamarind in warm water for 10 mins and take the extract using 2.5 sups of water mentioned above. ( if u take the extract with 1 cup of water, add the remaining 1.5 cups of water as it is.)

Then add the tamarind extract to the cooker base and the turmeric powder & required salt. Add a dash of hing again. Add fresh curry leaves too. ( these two items adding at the end gives a spl flavor for this upma ) Now add the washed & drained rice into the cooker.

Mix it well & close the lid.Keep it for 10-15 mins or 3 – 4 whistles. Once the steam is released , serve it hot. U can make the same in rice cooker too. For rice cooker,u need to add 3-3.5 cups of water.Enjoy eating hot topped with sesame oil.

Note

If u don’t have broken rice in hand,just grind the raw rice in mixie very coarsely. Run the mixie once or twice to break the rice.Then use as mentioned above.

Adjust the quantity of red chillies based on ur spice level.

Do not add more water than the mentioned quantity.Upma will become mushy.

December 17, 2010

My MIL is an expert in making Rava ladoo without using milk and coconut (Semolina ladoo in English). Generally South Indians make rava laddu for special occasions at home. People make this sooji ladoo just by using roasted rava. But my MIL makes it different from the usual method. Just because of this variation my husband loves this ladoo a lot. I’ve tried this rava laddu for many occasions. Its a fool proof recipe. It never went wrong. Try this and let me know friends :) I am bad in shaping the ladoos .So please bear with the irregular shapes;) Ok, lets see how to prepare rava laddu with step by step pictures.

December 13, 2010

Kara pori / Spicy puffed rice/ spicy murmura with garlic is our family favourite snack recipe which I learnt from my MIL. I usually make this with leftover/soggy puffed rice we buy for Saraswathi pooja. Its a very simple,easy to make,low calorie and tasty snacks recipe which can be eaten all through the day without guilty. Lets see how to make this spicy puffed rice recipe with garlic. Soon I will share a no garlic masala kara pori recipe.
Do check out my Beach style kara pori recipe here .

Take a wide mouthed kadai and add a tbsp of ghee.Spread it all over the pan.When it becomes hot,add the peanut and dal ( If adding ), Curry leaves, sambar powder, salt, turmeric powder and slightly crushed garlic flakes ( no need to peel the skin)..Fry everything for a moment in low to medium flame.Do not burn them.Nice aroma arises. Now add the puffed rice, toss it till its coated uniformly and switch off the flame. Mix it well with the fire off and allow the puffed rice to remain in the kadai for sometime to become crispy.( Note: If u try to eat it hot, puffed rice will be soggy & soft.It will become crispy only after it cools down).

For variations, you can use 3/4 tsp red chilli powder + 1/8 tsp turmeric powder. You can also use leftover soggy puffed rice. No need to use crispy puffed rice/ murmura.

U can store this pori in an air tight box after its cool down completely and enjoy for few days with coffee/Tea.

Note

You can skip garlic and make it as a no garlic version. But i feel garlic adds more flavor to this recipe.My husband likes to eat garlic with skin.But I remove the skin while eating.Finally its ur choice!

December 3, 2010

I wanted to try thogayal with mullangi for a long time.We all usually make sambar , poriyal & roti . I tried this way to make thogayal . It tasted yummy when mixed with plain rice & ghee.I dint find the raw smell at all.Try this ladies !! I am sure u’ll love it..